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BAGPIPEthe Vol. 57 No. 18 March 3, 2011
bagpipeonline.com
Last Thursday’s Student Senate meeting was packed. Over 40 Cov-enant students gathered in Carter Hall 131 at approximately 6:00 p.m. to discuss growing frustra-tions with recent policies of Stu-dent Development. Senate’s goal for the meeting was for students to voice their concerns openly with Brad Voyles, Vice President of Student Development and Emily
Ford, Associate Dean of Students.Student Body President Alex An-
derson opened the forum by asking students to move past specific grievances to larger issues.
“What we want during this time is for you to ask questions and share concerns, but also to offer constructive criticism that could lead to change. Please try not to focus on policies that are in place. Pull out a bigger theme that we can work on,” said Anderson.
Although hot topics such as Jackson Pond, virgin sacrifices,
bonfires, and hammocks were brought up during the conversa-tion, the dialogue centered around two things: 1) The nature of the relationship between the students and Student Development, and 2) appropriate ways for students and members of Student Development to communicate with one another.
“I think the majority of us are not here to fix something specific. This is about getting our relationship right. We are trying to get the right respect for you and you are trying to get the right respect for us,” said se-
nior Will Lutz during the meeting.Out of the 11 students who
spoke during the meeting, seven live in Founders Hall, one lives in Carter Hall, and three live off-cam-pus. Out of the seven who spoke from Founders Hall, and four live on Catacombs. But of the approxi-mately 40 students in attendance, many halls across campus were represented.
In regard to the nature of the relationship between students and Student Development, students expressed differing ideas on what they
felt was appropriate. Sophomore John Drexler of Catacombs said that he thought Student Development had become increasingly paternal-istic, and called for them to “close the power gap.” Grace Mullaney, a sophomore on 3C in Carter, said she thought certain rules and regulations did not foster the growth of students, particularly in regards to decision-making. Several students expressed the sense of powerlessness they felt about rule-making and housing
With the help of Student Devel-opment, Advancement, Chartwells, and many students, the Founders Residential Life staff raised $1,000 at their Flapjack Fundraiser on Monday Feb. 21, for their “Love
Covenant” initiative.“Personally I was thinking $300,
maybe $400, would be nice,” said Eric Graham, Resident Assistant of Rivendell in Founders Hall. “And then we exceeded that by a lot! I think everyone was pretty surprised.”
As the RAs of Founders began the second part of their “Love Thy
Neighborhood” campaign, they went looking for practical ways to contribute to the Covenant commu-nity. “I wanted to have folks think about loving Covenant through finances. So we thought about a fundraiser,” said the Resident Direc-tor of Founders Joe Oliver.
Graham suggested the idea of
turning Blackwatch Gardens into a place to hang hammocks permanently. “The way I envision it is with laid out flower beds, stone paths, and a nicer picnic bench out there,” said Graham. Blackwatch Gardens is the portion of campus located between Maclellan Hall and Founders Hall, including the wooded area directly behind Founders.
Because students’ hammocks will be left up, Oliver said they “needed to get the administration on board because it would be a change to the policy that you can’t leave hammocks up overnight. We thought students could get excited about that.”
Defining theRelationship
Founders Hits Flapjackpot
continued on page 3
by Robbie Brown
by Laura Childers &
Hannah Vanbiber
continued on page 2
ANNIE HUNTINGTONDean Voyles converses with students
2 News
Faculty Quote of the Week Have a faculty quote you’d like to see published? Email it to [email protected]
“Breaks are for breaking, you should read something light and cheery like ‘A Clockwork Orange.’”
-Dr. Davis on why he doesn’t assign philosophy reading over Spring Break.
An upper-level design class at Covenant is joining forces with a humanitarian aid organization, R3 International, to raise money to provide steel frames for new houses for families in Haiti.
R3 International is a non-profit missions and disaster response organi-zation started by New City Fellow-ship. In addition to providing durable frames, the project also creates jobs for the locals who erect these structures.
Associate professor Ken McElrath said that R3 International “focuses especially on plugging gaps that ma-jor relief organizations can’t fill.”
At $1,200 a frame, however, R3 didn’t have the money to provide this aid.
Brian McKeon, a Covenant graduate and director of R3 Inter-national, presented R3’s problem to McElrath’s Communication Design 2 class mid-January. From the outset, the plan was to put the skills the students learned in class to help McKeon raise money for the project.
As a group, the class decided to
hold a fundraising concert and call it Steelworks. They began planning and advertising right away, with the goal of having everything completed by Mar. 1.
McElrath said that the time limita-tions and difficulty of the project made it a “big, hairy, audacious goal.”
He had the students engage in such an intense project so that they could learn a skill he calls “design
decisions.“What is the dynamic be-
tween the administration and the student body?” asked senior Luke Granholm. “Do you see it more like a representative government, or a parent-child relationship?”
Voyles responded by explaining his role under the Board of Trustees.
“We do not see ourselves as par-ents,” said Voyles, “but more of an older brother or sister. It is still an uneven relationship. We are here to connect students, but also to draw lines. Students have full say, but they don’t have final say.”
For Voyles and Ford, meetings like
these are part of a cyclical process as new generations of students come in and out. “Every once in a while there is something that gets people upset,” Ford said later in an interview, point-ing to the “shoe policy” confrontation three years ago. Many students then were indignant at new policies against bare feet and smoking in school plays.
Students, however, believe that there has been a growing shift, or tightening, in policy over the last few years. “Some students feel that the at-titude regarding student influence has changed,” said senior Chelsea Moser after the meeting. “We need to figure out if that’s actually accurate.”
Ford and Voyles seemed confused by such claims, asking for specific instances. In an interview after the meeting, Voyles said, “I don’t see it, but I could be blind. What has
thinking,” defined as “solving real life problems with creativity.” He also wanted them to collaborate, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and develop technical and relational skills.
While he doesn’t think that it’s necessary for all professors to assign a project this practical, he does think that learning to collaborate between majors is a must for any Covenant student.
The students knew that they wanted to put on a concert, but they didn’t have a venue, bands, or donors. They used a “whisper campaign” to get the word out, putting up post-ers with only the date and name of the event all around Covenant and Chattanooga. This whisper campaign raised awareness for the event, while the class sorted out details.
As the deadline approached,
things began to come together quickly. Mellow Mushroom, Lupi’s Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, Go Fish, and Covenant CAB all donated either gift cards or cash to support the event. Dunkin’ Donuts provided coffee and donuts at the concert.
The class visited many potential locations, but eventually decided on 412 Market St., The Warehouse. MK Perkins, the Venue Director for CAB, said that the class chose The Warehouse because it is right in the middle of Chattanooga and was recently used as a center for ministry by another group.
Perkins said, “It is known to have more of a grungy atmosphere.”
She acknowledges that the location might not be as attractive to adults over 25, but hoped that it would of-fer a fun ambient atmosphere.
Our American Cousin, Rigoletto, and Raenbow Station played. Hope McKinney, who oversaw the project, said they wanted “some variety in music and to attract different types of people from around the Chatta-nooga area.”
changed? We have restricted the pond and hammocks. Tell me what else is changing. Words like ‘direc-tion, tone, and attitude’ are thrown out without the attending examples.”
Junior Jonathan Casselberry, among others, believes that the role of Student Senate is crucial in this conflict, saying much of the ten-sion between students and Student Development could be eased by a proper understanding of Senate’s role as an independent liaison between students and administration.
“Largely due to actions of past sena-tors,” he said, “Student Senate seems to have gradually slipped into the periphery of Covenant’s culture. The current tension shows the need for both students and the Administration to see Senate as a body that can medi-ate communication and act upon the
concerns expressed by students.”In the meeting, both Voyles and
Ford encouraged further dialogue.“Come talk to me,” Ford re-
peated throughout the meeting, saying few people actually come to her with complaints.
However, some students expressed frustration with this approach. “I appreciate that,” sophomore Robbie Brown said to Ford. “But when rules are made and then distributed that affect the whole student body or even just one hall, I don’t think it’s upon those individuals to find out why. We need you to come to us.”
Ford pointed out the difficulty of trying to satisfy everyone in com-munication, but in a later interview agreed, “We could more proactively offer opportunities for students to
engage with us instead of expecting them to come to us. That is why we were there last night.”
Overall, both students and admin-istration left the meeting unsatisfied. “After the meeting I felt like students were upset and Student Develop-ment was confused,” said Granholm.
However, Anderson hopes that this was merely the beginning of further dialogue and action. Sen-ate worked for weeks to make this meeting happen and Anderson feels that it is a move in the right direction. “Please come on March 22 ready for discussion. We want to move away from irreconcilable differences which just waste time. If you have constructive sugges-tions, pursue that.”
Another, hopefully much larger, Q&A is being planned for Mar. 22.
When Development Meets Designby Isaiah Day
Discussioncontinued from page 1
Students interact with the Steelworks display on the chapel lawn ANNIE HUNTINGTON
This is a Covenant College student publication
The views expressed herein do not necessarily
reflect those of the College or the student body.
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No... to mid-terms
Yes... to Arctic Terns. They’re hardy & industrious.
In honor of Black History Month, Bagpipe reporters looked at how the campus has grown in its tolerance of diversity since the ‘60s when Covenant College first moved to Lookout Mountain. The findings: while black stu-dents in the Covenant commu-nity love Covenant on the whole, they are eager for less stereotypes and more dialogue.
Joan Nabors, previously Joan McRae, who is married to New City Fellowship’s pastor Randy Nabors, came to Covenant Col-lege as a young black woman from Newark, New Jersey in 1967, despite her mother’s hesita-tion. “We all had watched on TV what was happening in the south-ern states,” Nabors said, “but it was ‘67 [and I thought] maybe the worst was over.”
“When I was at Covenant there were two black students and I was one of them,” Nabors said. She was used to a wide
range of cultures in inner-city Newark and had never experienced southern, white-dominated culture until she arrived at Covenant.
“The faculty were always really supportive, but I always knew that I would never get a date,” said Nabors, “I was always kinda left on the side... There was nothing wrong with me and I was fairly attractive, I thought. It was just an unspoken thing of attitudes and actions.”
Nabors’ daughter, Keren, is cur-rently a freshman at Covenant and said that “not everyone under-stands what it is like to be a minor-ity and that there are differences.”
Students of different races and especially those coming out of pub-lic schools have said that coming to Covenant has been a culture shock due to how dominantly white it is, with roughly only 3% of the student body being black.
Asia Taylor, a black sophomore, said, “It definitely takes a certain type of black person to come here. I don’t think you could drop any type of black person in this kind of college.”
Sophomore Chris Williams
To raise money for these renova-tions, the Founders staff held a pan-cake dinner, offering three pancakes for $3 or unlimited pancakes for $5, and drinks for 50 cents.
To make the fundraiser more lucrative, the Founders staff asked Chartwells to supply ingredients. They also asked the Office of Advancement to contribute, as the event encouraged students to give back to Covenant. Chartwells agreed to provide pancake mix and syrup. Advancement helped out as well and agreed to pay for additional supplies.
The event was a huge success, raising $634 from pancake sales alone. In addition to giving approval for the hammock hangout, Student Development decided to support the event financially as well, and contrib-uted the $366 needed to bring the
total amount raised to $1,000.“It was exciting to see how much
money was raised by students,” said Vice President of Student Develop-ment Brad Voyles, “and there was some budget money available so the decision was made to help put the total for the Founders project at an amount that would enable them to do even more to make the area a great hang-out for students.”
Founders staff is pleased about the success of the event, but are even more pleased that Covenant students are willing to give back to the com-munity of which they are a part.
Director of Young Alumni Tim Mahla said, “Joe mentioned the fundraiser and I thought it was a really cool idea. It is a huge blessing any time students or alumni are willing to support the college by giving their money.” Oliver said, “Giving to the annual fund isn’t exciting, especially for students. We wanted to do something that students could get on board with.” Both he and Mahla were glad to provide students with a way to give.
thinks that Covenant does a good job caring for its minority students, although he wishes that Covenant had more minority leaders within the school, because the more diverse leaders there are “the more they can cultivate a society that is more prone to be accepting of other cultures.”
Rashad Gober, a junior, feels like Covenant has assumed stereotypes. “If you succeed in something other than sports, people are surprised,” he said, “and if you don’t conform to what students here think of as ‘being black,’ like liking all rap music or wearing really baggy clothes, you’re automatically cast into the category of ‘white.’ Like, ‘Oh, you’re not re-ally black.’ Well, actually I am.”
Assistant professor of history Alicia Jackson, one of two black faculty members at Covenant, said that “continued dialogue and con-versation about diversity is helpful,” which is something that Gober is intentional about and encourages other students to engage in.
Julie Moore, Director of Student Life, said, “We know that some students come and are uncomfort-
able, while others don’t think twice about [being a minority].”
Part of the college’s strategic plan, which is the master plan for the future of the college, involves having black speakers come to campus and having diverse wor-ship in chapel with New City. Williams said he especially ap-preciates these efforts.
Joan Nabors says that she is disappointed that she has not seen more change at Covenant from the time that she was at the school. “My concerns are as much for the denomination as it is for the institution,” Nabors said.
Though Covenant was not an easy school for Nabors to attend, she said that “it’s obvious that God really wanted [her] at Covenant.” Because of the dedication some faculty, staff, and students had to starting a Sunday School down town, New City currently exists, Nabors said, “which demonstrates God’s sovereignty at work in my life and my city, Chattanooga.”
This event was a part of the larger “Love Thy Neighborhood” campaign. The campaign is based on the biblical principle that God loved us so we can in turn love others. RA of Blackwatch, Peter McCrory, said, “We hope that ‘Love Thy Neighborhood’ continues to be an opportunity for the Founders
community to learn how to practi-cally love the communities that God has placed them in.”
Oliver hopes that this event will only be the beginning. As students see that giving to their community can be fun and ultimately benefits them, he would like to see more events like this around campus.
Dialogue on Diversity
Flapjackscontinued from page 1
by Kendi Anderson
Sophomore Josiah Menghini at the fundraiser JULIET CANGELOSI
with reporting from Juliet Cangelosi and Hannah Vanbiber
4 Arts
It’s been about two years since the Fall Out Boy’s last album, Folie à Deux, and the band has gone on “indefinite hiatus.” In the meantime, it seems all the band members have started side projects. Bassist Pete Wentz started an electropop band named Black Cards, while guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley formed heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things with members from Anthrax and Every Time I Die. Lead vocalist Patrick Stump, on the other hand, had yet to officially release any solo material as of 2010.
Instead, Stump spent 2009 slimming his previously chunky figure and finding an infinitely more chic style. On his website, he publicized himself through links to a few of his YouTube a cappella cover songs. Finally, in early Nov. of 2010, he announced a solo album entitled Soul Punk, due out later this year. In the meantime, he released two versions of an original song named “Spot-light” on his website and asked fans to decide which one he should keep. The verdict was the version titled “Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia).” On Feb. 22 he released an EP named Truant Wave, which centered completely around that song and others that he “felt strongly about but didn’t have place for within the narrative of Soul Punk.” So we still don’t know what Soul Punk will sound like. What we do have is a six song EP from our favorite Fall Out Boy.
Truant Wave might be intended as Patrick Stump’s R&B and punk brainchild. But while Stump has undergone a complete fashion makeover, his musical style has not. Stump is either content with the similarities between his solo work and Fall Out Boy, or else he hasn’t developed his own unique sound. As negative as this sounds, Stump’s signature vo-cal bravados are actually much more fitting for his R&B dance-pop music. “Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)” is a catchy synth and piano-based song with a pre-chorus that shows his punk years aren’t quite over: “They might try to tell you how you can live your life / But don’t forget it’s your right to do whatever you like.”
In the pre-release “Cute Girls,” Stump gives his best shot at a King of Pop impres-sion. It would have been a more cohesive song if it weren’t for the busy synth back-ground and guest vocals from Om’Mas Keith, both of which distract from the potential of the song. The fifth track on the EP, “As Long As I Know I’m Getting Paid,” sounds like it was written for Fall Out Boy’s Infinity on High and adapted for synths and R&B.
Overall, Truant Wave is a decent EP, but it is not especially unique. Stump needs to find a solid direction for his music. Hard-core Fall Out Boy fans may find this unsat-isfying. But if you’re lucky, Stump will post more a cappella covers on YouTube or some pictures of his new chic self on his website, and all will be right with the universe.
Skip your 20th Century History lecture today. In fifty minutes, you can listen to English singer/songwriter PJ Harvey’s new album Let England Shake and learn everything you need to know. Released on Feb. 14, Harvey’s maca-bre valentine to her native country may leave some listeners disquieted on the western front.
Recorded in a 19th century church in Dor-set on a clifftop overlooking the sea, Let Eng-land Shake examines the history of England’s foreign affairs in order to make a universal comment on contemporary military conflicts. However, Harvey does not preach or protest. She writes a personal elegy to her country that speaks of its history with deep love, sadness, and occasional irony. Her thesis opens the title track: “The West’s asleep / Let England shake / weighted down with silent dead.”
The love/hate relationship between country and countrymen that dominates Harvey’s lyr-ics is accompanied by beautiful, ear-catching melodies. Her light soprano and dreamy in-strumentation (including autoharp, zither, and saxophone) make first-hand accounts from soldiers in WWI, Afghanistan, and Iraq more palatable. However, this combination of words and music also challenges listeners to discover the reality behind things that seem innocuous. Discordant interruptions wake listeners up to the realities of war and make them think twice before singing along to tunes about fallen soldiers, burning homes, and blood-soaked soil. For example, in the “Glorious Land” a
disturbing trumpet reveille interrupts a regular drumbeat and call-and-response pattern.
Highlights of the album include “Eng-land” and the title track “Let England Shake.” In “England,” Harvey hoarsely mourns the aging of her nation, “A withered vine / a bitter one reaching from the nations’ dirt” over what sounds like an eastern call to prayer. The harmonic progression in “Let England Shake” cleverly mimics The Four Lads’ “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” while Harvey sings, “England’s dancing days are done / Another day for you to come home Bobby / and tell me indifference won.”
However, the most beautiful track on the album is “On Battleship Hill,” based on the Gallipoli campaign. Over mystical-sounding guitars and a tinkling piano, Harvey sings proverbially, “The land returns to how it has always been / The scent of Thyme carried out on the wind.”
Harvey understands that it will do her no good to shout her grievances about her coun-try’s history of imperialism and exploitation. Although her album is gorgeous and thought-provoking, it is never tame. She understands that in today’s desensitized world, it takes a lot to shake people up. Because music and death are two things that can, Harvey is unafraid to present jarring pictures of the devastation wrought on English soldiers and individuals from others nations through various wars and conquests. This daughter of two stonemasons is willing to do what it takes to get listeners worldwide to see beyond glorified surfaces to the darker things that lie beneath.
Requiem for
Patrick StumpGoes It Alone
a Nation
by Grant Thomas
by Laura Childers
Arts 5
The masters of the unexpected have struck again, but with less to prove this time. In 2009, Thom Yorke suggested that Radio-head was done making full-length albums and would stick to making shorter EPs. But then they suddenly released another full LP: The King of Limbs. What gives? Well, it isn’t exactly an album. There is a clear gear-changing moment that occurs around the halfway mark. This collection of songs ought to be viewed as two twenty-minute EPs crammed together, the collision of two unique aspects of Radiohead. The King of Limbs gives listeners a glance into the in-novative, new Radiohead, and then a glance into Thom Yorke’s lyrical psyche.
For nearly two decades, drummer Philip Selway and bassist Colin Greenwood have brilliantly paced and flavored Radiohead tunes with creativity and precision. But aside from their occasional, brief spotlight mo-ments (“The National Anthem” for Green-wood, “Reckoner” for Selway) the two have always served as a quiet foundation for Thom Yorke’s endless talents. But on the first half of this album, they are finally handed the reigns.
On the opener “Bloom,” Yorke takes a
large step back and serves as a vocal backdrop for a creamy jazz bass line and a punchy, scat-tered beat. A warm combination of horns, ambling keyboards, and Yorke’s passive vocals work as a foil to Selway’s aggravated, off-beat snare crunches. This sets the tone for the first half of the album: this is not about Yorke or his lyrics—the focus is on the underrated members of Radiohead.
After a rare, out-of-place flop in the unimagi-native “Morning Mr. Magpie,” things pick back up with the darker “Little By Little.” In its ominous evolution, it is reminiscent of several mysterious mood-shifting tunes from Hail To The Thief. Electric and acoustic sounds overlap and swirl to create an intricately growing beat. Meanwhile, we get a taste of the moody guitars we’ve come to expect from Radiohead. The UK Funky and Dub influenced “Feral” further showcases Radiohead’s breadth and depth of talent. Selway lays out a tastefully fast, hi-hat driven beat over which Yorke patiently toys with experimental vocal effects. Then Green-wood emerges from the shadows with a subtly delicious bass line. This song, along with the first part of the album on the whole, is deceiv-ingly minimalistic in its quiet evolution.
The first half of The King Of Limbs intro-duces us to a new Radiohead. This is a gutsy and successful move in a new direction: mini-malistic songs that display one brilliant aspect
of Radiohead at a time. For the umpteenth time, they’ve eluded cool and set their own pace. That is, after all, why we love them.
The second half of the album changes direc-tion and focuses almost exclusively on Thom Yorke’s phenomenal melodies and lyrics. In this half, Yorke flows through a four-song narrative of his unrelenting drive to fulfill his dream of transcendence. Floating synths, a driving bass line, and Reggae-influenced snares set the sec-ond half of the album into motion. On “Lotus Flower,” Yorke croons in his undeniable falsetto, “All I want is the moon upon a stick / Just to see what happens / Just to see what it is.” He wants to rise up: to transcend and to see from above.
In “Codex,” Yorke dreams up a serene picture of transcendence, “Jump off the end into a clear lake / No one around, just dragonflies flying to the side / No one gets hurt, you’ve done nothing wrong / Slide your hand, jump off the end / The water’s clear and innocent.” Soaring trumpets, strings, and a thudding piano give this song an emotional realness that paints the listener into the picture. This is a transcendent moment for Radiohead, and the highlight of the album.
In the following song “Give Up The Ghost,” York yearns to transform his ideal dream into a physical reality. He introspectively cries, “Gather up the lust in your soul into your arms.” What good is this dream if he can’t physically hold it? But after deeper consideration, he resolves to abandon
this ghost of a dream, and return to his reality. The organic acoustic guitar that brought him to this conclusion fades under muffled horns and distorted voices repeating the hopeless desire to transcend. This is the end of the dream.
Selway and Greenwood make their return to the album as Yorke returns to reality and sings, “It’s like I’m falling out of bed from a long, weary dream / The sweetest flowers and fruits hang from the trees / Falling off the giant bird that’s been carrying me.” But even as he comes to believe that the dream is over, he realizes that he can’t escape it. This dream doesn’t leave us. It is a funda-mental part of the human experience. The album finishes with the peaceful yet unsatis-fied, “Wake me up / Wake me up!”
In the first half of The King Of Limbs, Radiohead once again proves their ability to achieve beyond expectations and wow its audience with immense creativity and beauty: they artistically transcend. In the second half, Yorke dreams of personal, psychological tran-scendence. But he dives into something much deeper than a written narrative of a dream: he displays a psyche interwoven within the art that flowed out of it. Yorke’s lyrics aren’t propositions; they are landscapes and dreams set into motion by the music that his philoso-phy created. In this, the listener transcends.
Radiohead: King of Limbsby John Drexler
6 Opinion
After Hendrik Hertzberg, a senior editor for The New Yorker, visited Covenant in 2008, he wrote on his blog that, “These students live in a bubble, and they know it. But then, people like me live in a bubble, and, on the whole, we don’t know it.” Hertzberg’s insight into the Covenant community is undeniable--while Covenant is generally a place where we are free to make our own decisions and grow, it is an insulated Christian community. Covenant is a place where we ought to prepare to work for the Kingdom of God in the world. I think the way we have understood lead-ership within our student body is a result of us losing sight of this expectation and forgetting about the bubble in which we dwell. Particularly, I believe that we have created a community that discourages task-oriented leaders and encourages
relational leaders. This polarization is detrimental and unhelpful.
Covenant’s insularity makes it a unique place to develop gifts that the Lord has given students. However, when we forget that we are prepar-ing for a world off of this mountain, we tend to slight gifts that we find uncomfortable or demeaning--like task-oriented leadership. While we would never consciously admit that the relational leadership practiced by Resident Assistants across this campus is more intentionally developed than its goal-oriented counterpart, I think our actions reveal that very mindset. Gener-ally, the RA position is seen in a much higher light than positions that most would associate with tasks or commit-tees rather than relationships, such as those on Student Senate. It seems that our community believes that mature leadership is less ambitiously task-oriented, less firm in expectations of
I believe that the firmest patriotism one can have is an embrace of the values which America espouses coupled with a firm doubt of whether those values are acted on. By “doubt” I mean real intellectual engagement with our history and actions, how they affect you, and how they affect the world. It also means treating America’s history with frank realism. Remaining in ignorance about the history we have inherited as citizens of the United States, whether in vitriol or in ado-ration, is always morally wrong.
Yes, at times we can have such a disgust with our own country and its effect on the world that we refuse to acknowledge the good we have done. We are the nation that gave fresh reinforcements in the war against Hitler, stood up against the Soviet Union, and elected an African American president. We have a creative capacity that bests the rest of the world, opportunities for the entire population to grab hold of, and the ability to overcome obstacles and better ourselves. These
are things we can cherish and hold dear, things we can pass on to other generations in hope they will con-tinue the enterprise of democracy.
While we espouse such values, it is the duty of every American—
by Tim VanVliet
by Jonathan Casselberry
others’ work, and more soft-spoken. The real damage of this mindset is done to the task-oriented leaders in our midst: rather than having their gifts en-couraged, they are often interpreted as arrogant and are discouraged. An over-glorification of relational leadership discourages gifts that the Lord can use to great effect in the world--gifts that enable the Kingdom of God to redeem both relationships and institutions.
This has had egregious conse-quences within our student body. Many leaders who function more naturally in committee meetings rather than conversations over lattes have had their gifts discouraged by lack of recognition or active hostility toward their strong opinions and perceived ‘self-absorption.’ I have friends whose gifts for adminis-tration have been perceived by many as sin--whether it be in strong opinions inside and outside of the classroom or purposeful meetings with administra-
and, I believe, every Christian—to question their government and its motives, refusing to turn a blind eye to the grievances we inflict on other peoples. As hard as it is to admit, we are the nation that espoused liberty
while allowing slavery and Jim Crow laws, the nation that propped up dictators such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam, and Augusto Pinochet in Chile. We were foremost in the creation of
consumerism. Malcolm X poignant-ly said, “You’re not to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.”
How do we face this paradox? Is it possible to love America’s values of freedom and equality while also hating some of the actions she takes? I think the responsibility of the Christian citizen is to support our country and love it so long as it follows the precepts of God. The minute our country goes against the Word of God is the moment we have to break away and be frank in our criticism of our nation. We can take joy in our Constitution and the values we espouse, but we must also reflect on the pain we have inflicted on the world. In Romans 12:9, Paul urges us, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” We can cling to the good we stand for and the good we do, but we must hate the bad we commit and stand against it; this is our commitment as Christian citizens, and the only way we can mediate between God and country with an honest intellectual engagement.
tion, people deem them ‘unapproach-able.’ I do not believe that the Bible offers any reason to devalue goal-ori-ented leadership. King David faithfully served his Lord, despite his many sins, by bringing stability and power to Israel through accomplishing tasks, not simply by building relationships. The Lord used David’s ability to organize war efforts to further His Kingdom.
Our conception of Christian leadership has become far too narrow. This narrow view reveals a disconnect between the gifts our community en-courages and the gifts that the Lord uses to reform this world for Christ. Outside of the Covenant community, it is vital
for the Kingdom of God to have agents who are able to reform and maintain institutions in addition to redeeming relationships. Pushing gifts that foster institutional reform to the back of our minds neglects the fact that those gifts are vital to Christ’s body and our call-ing. It is our responsibility to encourage those with gifts to use them responsibly and not discourage using the gifts that make us uncomfortable. We must take responsibility for the flaws of our community and take special action to combat the harmful effects that our preferences can have on our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Analytical Patriotism
Expanding our Approach to Leadership
Feel like change?
ANNIE HUNTINGTON
Opinion 7
Discontentment with admin-istrative actions is not a new topic on this campus, but I have perceived a large hole in the overall discussion. I think much of the discontentment with these matters is the result of a lack of loving dialogue between students and the administration.
I love Covenant and am thank-ful that the Lord has blessed me by allowing me to study here. I do realize the college is not perfect. I have had my fair share of critical conversations about rules made or actions taken by the college, but I think we must do some self-exam-ination before jumping to harsh or critical words.
Calling for the college to treat students as adults is, on the surface, a fair statement. However, one must be careful about making a statement like this without further self-examination. I would argue that in many areas we students do need to grow up. I recognize that this isn’t a terribly comfortable pill to swallow. Almost all of us are over eighteen. We live far away from our parents and most of us have jobs, tuition payments, cell phone bills, and other adult worries. So we are finished growing up, right? I think before we make this assumption, we have to be mindful of what be-ing “grown up” actually entails.
As Ephesians 4:15 states, “In-
stead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” We are supposed to be constantly growing up from “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves” (v. 14) to look like Christ. Along with our education, Covenant is en-trusted with our spiritual matura-tion, whether this is manifested in rules that guide us along the path or in Christ-like role models in our professors and administrators.
All of this being said, I think a remedy for student discontent-ment is allowing an attitude of thankfulness and humility to per-meate the entire community. I am not saying that students should not voice concerns with the administration, but rather that we should voice them with an at-titude of respect. Covenant exists to teach us as students within our disciplines, but also to teach us as Christians to look more like Christ. We must constantly be aware that every day here is a gift from God that will help us grow up to look like Him. This doesn’t mean that every day or every institution-student interaction will go perfectly, but when we as students don’t agree with the administration or vice versa, we ought to make an effort to engage one another respectfully. Instead of communicating through flip-pant remarks or harsh words, we need to speak the truth in love.
I have always disliked cheese. So last summer, I decided I needed to get over it. I put a whole slice of extra sharp, Vermont cheddar cheese in my mouth. It was sharp and rich at the same time. My taste buds were awakened to the new flavors and I thought I was probably an idiot for not having branched out sooner. That same summer, I went to the opera. As I sat and listened to one of Handel’s earlier works, Tolemeo, I was struck through and through with the beauty of the intricate vocals, the ornate passages and clear, soaring arias. On my way home, I listened to The Avett Brothers and thought to myself; what if my ears were only tuned to one sound? What if I was revolted by The Avett Brothers after an evening at the opera? How much would I be missing out on? It is the differences in music and in our palates that make each sound and flavor so enjoyable and rich. The differences bounce off each other and resonate deeper with us because they are, well, different.
How many new things have you tried today? How many new people have you smiled at and said hello to? We can get so consumed with the familiar, with what we know and are com-fortable with, that we forget about the variety around us or choose to ignore it. If you take a minute to look around you, you’ll see people who might be your potential boss, your future co-worker: the maintenance department, the IT guys, the marketing team, etc.
Covenant College is the per-fect place to pay attention to the differences we find in each other and to learn to appreciate them. Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of friends my own age. Either they were a lot younger than me or a lot older.
It’s hard to develop friendships that are exclusive in that type of setting. I got my first job when I was 15 at a bed and breakfast in a high traffic and touristy part of town. With a constant supply of new faces, I enjoyed the diversity of meeting new people and learning their stories.
My freshmen year of college, the school I went to had about 7,000 students. While I am sure there were a lot of cliques, I didn’t feel their presence or see them in action. I felt like I met new people everyday and I really enjoyed the diversity. When I left and came home, I worked for three years at two different hospitals. Sometimes I found certain people harder to work with, but we tried to work through the differences and de-velop a team that could function and benefit the hospital because that was what we were getting paid to do. I came to Covenant and I was shocked at how many people had been going
by Esther Ellis
to school with the same person for three or more years but had never reached out to them or even said hello. It surprised me, being in a small Christian community like this, where it seemed like so many people were being exclusive.
While you can’t be expected to have super human powers and get along great or be best friends with ev-eryone, you can still prepare yourself for life after college by not staying in your comfort zone. Whatever voca-tion we go into after college, most of us will not be surrounded by people who are even vaguely similar to us in style, musical tastes, food prefer-ences, speech, upbringing or religious background. Let’s try to remember that we’re on the same team, look for commonalities, and, when there aren’t any, make some.
Don’t Knock It ‘til You’ve Tried It
RespectfulDisagreement
by Amanda Crider
Feel like change?
Run for Student Senate
packets and information are outside the mailroom
SWISS.COM
8 Sports
This time last season Trevor Potts was strolling the golf course as a member of the Scots golf team. Now he's doing it once again, only this time he's filling a different role. Director of Athletics Tami Smialek made the an-nouncement last week that Potts, a recent Covenant College graduate, has been named head coach of the golf program.
Said Smialek, “Trevor is a great fit for our golf program, and we are excited to have the opportunity to develop him as a young coach. Our golf teams are ready to move to the next level and compete in the NCAA Division III, and I feel Trevor has the potential to lead them there.”
Potts arrives on the scene following a brief stint as an assistant coach to former head coach Tom Schreiner last semester. A four year veteran of the team from 2006-2010, Potts is familiar with both the members of the squad and Covenant's home course at Lookout Mountain Golf Club, where he serves as Assistant Pro.
“I'm really excited for the opportunity to give back to Covenant after playing there for 4 years,” commented Potts. “I look forward to growing both programs into top contenders, not only in the conference, but at the national level as well.”
A group of 19 male students gathered in Mills 180 last Fri-day to discuss starting a rugby club. Junior Scott McKeon briefly described the game and asked who was interested. McKeon began playing last semester with the Chatta-nooga Rugby Football Club, but he could not continue this semester due to time commit-ments. He decided to set the club up as an alternative.
First, club members would learn how to play. Then they would scrimmage, using seven-man sides instead of the traditional 15. McKeon hopes to begin playing outside the college as early as next semester. He mentioned Lee University, Bryan College, and UTC as potential op-
Tacklinga NewSport
ponents.The club would practice
once a week and play a game every other Saturday, depend-ing on availability of people and fields. The first practice took place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, and they are aiming to use either the intramural field or Shadowlands on a regular basis. McKeon stated that cleats are necessary to play and strongly advised using a mouth guard. A workout group was suggested as an optional part of club membership.
McKeon has submitted all the necessary paperwork for the club to be officially recognized to Student Senate and is awaiting a response. McKeon said that he is try-ing to get Professor Steve Corbett as faculty sponsor, since Professor Corbett has played rugby in the past.
Return of the King
by David Pifer
At Berry College:Men’s Basketball (56-61 L)Baseball (4-5 L)Women’s Basketball (61-70 L)Elsewhere:Women’s Basketball @ TN Temple (54-75 L)Baseball vs. Toccoa Falls College (3-1 W) (4-2 W)
SCORES:
by Ben Bingham
Scott McKeon playing rugby in the intramural fieldNAOMI BELZ
